Garza County, Texas

Garza County, Texas
Garza County Courthouse in Post, Texas
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1876
Seat	Post
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	896 sq mi (2,321 km²) 895 sq mi (2,318 km²) 1 sq mi (3 km²), 0.07%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	6,461 5/sq mi (2/km²)
Website	www.co.garza.tx.us

Garza County line marker

Post Dispatch newspaper covers local events of Garza County.

Wells Fargo Bank serves Garza County through its outlet in Post.

Garza County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas southeast of Lubbock. As of the 2010 census, its population was 6,461. Its county seat is Post. Garza is named for a pioneer Bexar County family, as it was once a part of that county.

A leading civic figure in Garza County was until his death in 2011 Giles McCrary, a rancher, oil developer, investor, and art collector. McCrary's OS Ranch Museum is a popular attraction in the county seat of Post, which has made an extended effort to attract tourism.

History timeline

• 2000 b.c. – Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the first inhabitants. Later inhabitants were the Kiowa, Comanche.
• 1875 W. C. Young of Fort Worth and Illinois Irishman Ben Galbraith establish the beginnings of the Curry Comb Ranch in the northwest part of Garza County.
• 1876 Garza County is formed from Bexar County, and named for the prominent Bexar County family of José Antonio de la Garza.
• 1880 County census count is 36 people.
• 1882 The Square and Compass Ranch is started by the Nave and McCord Cattle Company. They put up the first barbed wire fence two years later.
• 1884 OS Ranch is founded by brothers Andrew J. Long and Frank M. Long of Lexington, Kentucky.
• 1900 County population is 185 persons.
• 1907 Post is founded as a utopian venture by, and named for, cereal king Charles William Post.
• 1909-1913 C.W. Post builds a cotton gin, a cotton mill, and attempts to improve agriculture production through rainmaking, involving the heavy use of explosives fired from kites and towers along the rim of the Caprock Escarpment.
• 1926 Oil is discovered in the county.
• 1934 Archeologists in the county discover the sixteen-foot-long tusk of a prehistoric imperial mammoth.
• 1957 A Prehistoric Indian site at Cowhead Mesa is recorded by Emmet Shedd of Post.
• 1960-1965 South Plains Archaeological Society excavations of Cowhead Mesa find artifacts to date inhabitation back to 2000 b.c.
• 1980 The most important business in the county are agribusiness, oil and gas extraction, and textile mills.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 896 square miles (2,320.6 km²), of which 895 square miles (2,318.0 km²) is land and 1 square mile (2.6 km²) (0.07%) is water.

Major roads and highways

• U.S. Highway 84
• U.S. Highway 380
• State Highway 207
• Farm to Market Road 669

Adjacent counties

• Crosby County (north)
• Kent County (east)
• Scurry County (southeast)
• Borden County (south)
• Lynn County (west)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	36		—
1890	14		−61.1%
1900	185		1,221.4%
1910	1,995		978.4%
1920	4,253		113.2%
1930	5,586		31.3%
1940	5,678		1.6%
1950	6,281		10.6%
1960	6,611		5.3%
1970	5,289		−20.0%
1980	5,336		0.9%
1990	5,143		−3.6%
2000	4,872		−5.3%
2010	6,461		32.6%
U.S. Decennial Census Texas Almanac: 1850-2010

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,872 people, 1,663 households, and 1,217 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 1,928 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 56.7% White (European and non-Hispanic), 4.8 Black or African American,0.2%Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander,37.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino. 17.1 other races, and 3.00% from two or more races.

There were 1,663 households out of which 36.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.50% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.80% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county, the population was spread out with 28.00% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 112.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,206, and the median income for a family was $31,173. Males had a median income of $26,604 versus $18,105 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,704. About 17.50% of families and 22.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.60% of those under age 18 and 18.60% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Close City
• Post
• Justiceburg
• Southland

See also

• C.W. Post Memorial Camp
• Double Mountain Fork Brazos River
• Garza County Historical Museum
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Garza County, Texas

External links

• Garza County government's website
• Garza County from the Handbook of Texas Online